This was only the second Mary Kay Andrews book that I have read, so I didn’t really know what to expect, just that it was offered through a NetGalley mailing and I thought the premise sounded promising. I’m glad I did. “Summers at the Saint” pretty much had it all; romance, murder, intrigue, beautiful settings. The story was fast paced once it actually got started several chapters in. Centering around Traci Eddings, a local girl who ended up running the St. Cecelia, referred to by the local as the Saint, a five star retreat for the privileged. Traci worked as a lifeguard with her best friend in 1992 when she met and fell in love with Hoke, the son of the owner. Hoke is tragically killed in a plane crash, leaving the running of the resort to Traci. As Traci works hard to maintain the Saint’s sterling reputation, she has to face the loss of both her chef and front manager. She devises ways to get new staff in for the summer, but in doing so, she has to cope with her husband’s resentful family. No spoilers here, just suffice it to say that things don’t go the way she expects, but through it all, she keeps a level head, especially with the arrival of Whelan, who it turns out, has an ulterior motive for working at the Saint. The plot was good, the characters engaging, but left several questions unanswered, so I took a star away for that. Still, this will be an excellent summer read. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy in return for a fair and unbiased review.

I've read quite a few of MKAs novels but this one I just couldn't put down. I thought it was just a beach read but it was so much more. There was some intrigue, murder, secrets, love and friendships. The character development was well though out. I found myself rooting for some and others, I just wanted to tell them what I really thought of them. Saints - oh how the mighty have fallen. Thank you to NetGalley for this arc copy and thank you MKA for keeping me on the edge of my seat.

Gotta love a good Mary Kay Andrews story. Her southern charm, wit, sassy comebacks and emphasis on female lead characters keeps me intrigued for more.

Pick this up when you are ready for a summer day with a sassy read.

This is the story of a small town with a five star resort. The town does not have much in common with the rich who are members and stay at the resort. Traci and her best friend Shannon work at the Saint Cecelia resort as lifeguards when they are teenagers. Traci ends up marrying the son of the owner. This creates all kinds of tension. The resort, its guests, its employees and the location make for an intriguing read.

The story contains family drama, murder, and a little romance. It is a great summer read. I'm reading it in the winter and it's nice to read about a warm locale. Take a trip to the Saint Cecilia and bask in the warmth and intrigue. This is a great summer read.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #MaryKayAndrews, and #StMartinsPress for a copy of this book.
#SummersattheSaint

Summers at the Saint by Mary Kay Andrews was heavenly! I stayed up late reading this one and woke up early to finish it! I wish the Saint Cecilia Hotel was a real place so I could visit! This book has it all: mystery, intrigue, starting over, and romance! It’s the perfect beach read or any time of year read!

This had so much going on. Friendship, romance, drama and murder. It was a slow start and felt like it dragged some of the time. Overall I enjoyed it though.

📚B͙o͙o͙k͙ R͙e͙v͙i͙e͙w͙
🌟🌟🌟🌟💫
This was my first read by @marykayandrews and wow. I loved it. This was every bit of a thriller. Man I’ve read some really great book to start the year off. Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC. The book is available for pre order and releases 5/7/24.
☀️The story takes places at the St. Cecelia hotel a five star located on the coast of Georgia. Seclusion and high property value. It gives vibes of 30A in Florida which I hope to retire to one day. Like most small towns you have the wealthy and the Aints. Well the owner of the hotel know use to be an ain’t but luckily her husband was maybe the best of all the men in his family, kind. After her husbands death she tries to keep his legacy alive and finish building what he started. A new and better hotel. She has some hurdles which include murder, embezzling, old skeletons including rape and cover ups. Oh the list can go on but I’m sure you get the point. The book had several POV’s but it flowed very well. My only thing was the ending felt a little rushed. This is a fun “whodoneit”. The reader finds themselves trying to solve a current murder and one from 20 years ago. The eddings men were vile creatures with the exception of Traci’s husband hoke God rest his soul. The eddings women are truly the glue that kept that family and business together.

🏆there is a giveaway currently going on at good reads right now for a paper back of this one. Good luck and happy reading!

❓what was your last “whodoneit” book?

🏷️ #summersatthesaint #marykayandrews #thriller #stmartinspress #beach #sunsets #murder #wealthy #oldmoney

“Summers at The Saint” by Mary Kay Andrews is a combination mystery and light romance. This book was a bit different from what I’m used to reading by Ms. Andrews - though I’ll admit to having only read one book previously. This book seemed heavier on the mystery than I was expecting. This book opens with a number of different characters being introduced - probably about 10 - so it took a bit of time to not only be introduced to who was who, but also get their connections to Traci (and each other) separate. This book also has a number of things I wasn’t expecting, making it not exactly a “beach read” for me. However, I did find the story compelling enough to read it over an evening. The ending felt a little rushed - as other reviewers have mentioned. I also wished that one character (Felice) had a bit more play in the overarching storyline. Overall, this was a solid read and I’d recommend it. If you like Ms. Andrews’s books, this might be another one to pick up and enjoy.

I enjoyed reading this book so much that I had difficulty setting it down. Mary Kay Andrews does a great job of creating characters that you will come to love or come to hate, The book is a blend between women's fiction and a mystery. I thought oh I have this figured out only to be proved wrong, With many twists and turns. I love the setting if this was a real place I would vacation here. One of my favorite parts of the book is when the staff and guests gather out on the deck to watch the lovely sunset with a glass of prosecco. The visual image this draws to mind is so lovely and heart-touching.
Thank you, Netgalley, St. Martins Press, and Mary Kay Andrews for the ARC. This review is my honest opinion and mine alone.

Mary Kay Andrews once again takes us on a non stop journey into the lives of interesting characters, mystery, plot twists, heartbreak and romance all set around the elegant Saint beach resort. A true page turner story that you hope to hear from the most lovable characters again in the future..

Small town summer vibes, family drama, murder mystery. …all the makings for a great book! This book grabbed me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down. There are a lot of characters to keep up with; it takes a moment to sort them out. A lot of twists and turns. Highly recommen;

As much as I love this author this was to many characters to follow along with and sort of lost me !I couldn’t recommend this to anyone

I LOVE Mary Kay Andrews!! I am so glad the Queen of Beach Reads is back and this book was most definitely worth the wait! I loved the setting of this book…give me a historic pink hotel story any day of the week…and the characters were FLAWLESS. I loved this book and can’t wait for it to be out for the word to read!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. It is a great beach read with romance, murder and mayhem. It was easy to read, action packet, scary, tragic and unpredictable. The characters of Felice, Traci and Whelan were wonderfully developed

I truly enjoyed Summers at the Saint! It's a mystery kind of crossed with women's fiction. There's a lot of wonderful characters, and as is usually the case, a few I loved to hate.

There's so much to unpack ~ family loyalty, friends who become family or are headed that way, the inner workings of a hotel that I loved as a former hotel general manager, and how damaging secrets and lies can be.

There are a fair number of characters - primarily early 20-somethings trying to make their way in the world and I liked the young women a lot - Felice, Parrish, and Livvy. They were strong characters that try hard to do the right thing, take care of work and friends, and help where they can. There are also long-time employees, family, and friends. At first I was worried that I wouldn't keep everyone straight, but it wasn't a problem at all and they all had their reasons for being a part of the book.

Traci, the woman that owns the Saint is great as well. She's strong, driven, and very loyal to the Saint and the family's history with the Saint. She is still coming to terms with the loss of her husband and is working hard to make the resort profitable after all the changes Covid brought to the world of hospitality. She's among the characters I'd really like to be friends with.

Mary Kay Andrews does women's fiction, beach reads, and mystery like no one else and this is another very enjoyable visit to those genres and worlds. If you need an escape, this is one for you. You'll be whisked away to a wonderful world that most of us don't get to experience - that of luxury, pampering, and haivng everything you need simply by making a request. Where do I sign up?

I can't say enough good things about this book!

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC and owe thanks to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for this great relaxing visit to a world I don't inhabit. All thoughts are my own and happily shared!

Summer's at the Saint is the newest by Mary Kay Andrews. I love her previous books and while this one isn't as good as her past books, I still enjoyed it. I give it 3.75 stars.

Part murder mystery, family drama and a little romance, this book starts with Traci Eddings admiring "The Saint" resort while living on the wrong side of town. Years later she meets, falls in love with, and marries one of the family that owns the resort. After his untimely and unexpected death, Traci finds herself running the resort despite interference from her in-laws. She enlists a cast of secondary characters to help save the resort, including her beloved niece, much to the annoyance of her brother-in-law.

Throw in a dead body, possible romance for Traci and reuniting with her old best friend and you have an enjoyable book, but not up to the old Mary Kay books I loved. It seems a little too busy - a lot of characters and plot points. I did enjoy it, it just wasn't up to the older books that I have loved for decades.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It didn't take me long to read it, and it was fun to read. It was full of suspense and romance. The ending was better than I thought it would be, in fact the whole book was better than I thought it would be. I think it was the best that Mary Kay Andrews has written so far this year. I am grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

MKA has surely checked all the boxes when it comes to great storytelling. The number of characters in this novel adds to the breadth of the storylines, and the enduring themes of friendship, family, second chance romance and learning who you can trust in the world - all parallel the mystery element found in so many of her novels. Traci Eddings' character is a strong woman who is trying to save the hotel her husband's family has run forever. To secure that legacy she has spent all her time and energy on that while ignoring her own needs. Her not so kind and belligerent brother in law proves to be the menace he always was by building roadblocks to her success - it is the life of privilege and wealth that has weakened him and given him his greedy wife. Traci has to rise above the noise of family demands and legacy to scratch out her own success story, and she owns it every step of the way. This novel is going to be a great beach read and one of MKA's all time best novels.

The Saint Cecelia, a sprawling oceanfront hotel complex, is the setting for this summer’s beach read “Summers at the Saint by the talented Mary Kay Andrews. Traci Eddings, a widow since her husband’s tragic death four years earlier, has inherited the hotel and a lifestyle far different from her simple childhood. She now deals with employees, ever increasing financial problems and her untrustworthy brother-in-law. She still missing her best friend Shannon who hasn’t spoken to her since a child drowned in the hotel pool when they were lifeguards years earlier. Now with her niece Parrish at the front desk, Shannon’s daughter Livvy a server in the hotel restaurant and star chef Felice in the kitchen, it looks like a good summer is in store for The Saint. However, there is a heartbreaking death at a hotel after party, suspicions of mismanagement, and an investigation of that long ago drowning. Traci needs to discover the secrets that hide in The Saint before there can be more tragedy.

Mary Kay Andrews has delivered a suspenseful, impossible to put down mystery! I love The Saint and its pink clothed employees! I love the behind-the-scenes look at hotel management! I want to read more about Traci and Whelan! I really hope this is the start of a new series. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Mary Kay Andrews for this ARC.

Although this book has 75 chapters, I read it in one day. I could not put it down due to the interesting story line with many surprises, twists and turns. Traci Eddings is running the Saint after her husband's untimely death. She had married into his wealthy family and had difficulties being accepted even when her husband was still alive. Traci does her best to hire the best employees and to treat them well, but all of them are not worthy of her trust. She repairs a relationship with her best friend after hiring the friend's daughter. to work at the Saint. Something happened at the Saint when they were teen-age life guards that caused the end of their friendship. After all of these years, Traci finally has answers. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who likes a good mystery mixed in with interesting family dynamics and relationships.